Saturday, September 15, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: Practical Action Senior Policy & Practice Adviser – Agriculture. The UK-based NGO Practical Action is looking for a dynamic individual who is a strategic thinker with clear influencing skills. Deadline: September 27, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) Director. Forest Peoples Programme is an international NGO based in the UK, which supports forest peoples to secure their rights and determine their own futures. Deadline: October 12, 2012
FELLOWSHIP: ECA Research Fellow on Agriculture and Climate Change. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is inviting applications from qualified young African Professionals to the “ECA Fellowships for Young African Professionals” programme. Deadline: September 18, 2012
FELLOWSHIPS: Research Fellows in Water Policy Analysis. The Institute of Water Policy in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore is seeking several scholars with training in empirical policy analysis. They are particularly interested in post-doctoral and early-career professionals with experience in policies regarding water, energy, and other natural resources. Deadline: October 15, 2012
SCHOLARSHIP: IPCC Scholarship Programme. The program aims to build capacity in the understanding and management of climate change in developing countries by providing opportunities for young scientists from developing countries to undertake studies that would not be possible without funding under the programme. Deadline: September 30, 2012
PUBLICATION: Sustainable Community Forest Management. TFT has released a Community Forest Handbook, which it describes as “a practical guide to FSC group certification for smallholder agroforests”.
PUBLICATION: How to Support Women’s Land Rights in Mozambique? A new publication from NORAD analyzes the Mozambican Land Law of 1997, considered one of the best in the world for the way it protects and codifies local people’s land rights.
PUBLICATION: Forest Management Decentralization in Kenya: Effects on Household Farm Forestry Decisions in Kakamega. A paper prepared for presentation at the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
PUBLICATION: Sustainable Community Forest Management
TFT has released a Community Forest Handbook, which it describes as “a practical guide to FSC group certification for smallholder agroforests”.
With an estimated 558 million people managing 1 billion hectares of agroforests worldwide, TFT’s new guide to working with smallholder agroforest managers is aimed at empowering communities to successfully launch sustainable forest businesses.
Simply written, with multiple illustration and graphics, the handbook is a comprehensive guide for non-profits, businesses, government agencies and community organizations who want to develop a FSC group certificate for smallholder agroforests. The handbook includes:
- step-by-step guidance for many of the most common challenges smallholders face in developing a wood business and becoming certified
- case studies, templates and simple tools and techniques that will be useful for readers who are just beginning a community agroforest program, or are in the early stages of development
- key questions to ask, and best practices for building long-term community agroforest program
- explanations of common technical forestry terms and easy to understand examples
- appendices with sample documents and links to additional resources on the web
The book is made up of six sections:
- Section 1: Introduction overview of group certification for smallholder agroforest communities, and an introduction to the Forest Stewardship Council
- Section 2: Getting Started guidance on defining group goals and objectives, assessing initial program needs and developing an action plan.
- Section 3: Group Management guidance on developing organization structure, how to develop group rules and procedures, and monitor membership.
- Section 4: Forest Management how to develop a forest management plan, and chain of custody systems that will meet FSC’s guidelines.
- Section 5: Business Management advice on budgeting, financial reporting and marketing strategies for a community forest enterprise.
- Section 6: FSC Assessment and Group Expansion overview of the FSC certification process, advice how to prepare for your first FSC audit, and tips for expanding your smallholder agroforest group.
The entire book and the individual sections are available for download here.
FELLOWSHIPS: Research Fellows in Water Policy Analysis
The Institute of Water Policy in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore is seeking several scholars with training in empirical policy analysis. They are particularly interested in post-doctoral and early-career professionals with experience in policies regarding water, energy, and other natural resources. They welcome also mid-career scholars with notable experience and good publication records. Research training and experience can pertain to households, communities, countries, or industry. Much of the Institute's work will pertain to policy issues regarding urban and peri-urban areas in Asia and Africa.
We wish to build our capacity in several areas of research, consistent with our goals of improving access to water for poor residents of developing countries, enhancing livelihoods and improving health and welfare in developing and middle-income countries, and motivating wise use of water in countries across the development spectrum. We will pursue these goals initially by conducting research in the following three areas:
- Demand Management
We seek expertise in the analysis of policies that utilize financial and non-financial incentives to motivate improvements in water management and wiser use of water and other natural resources.- Impact Assessment
We seek expertise in the empirical evaluation of policies and programs, using rigorous analytical methods, such as propensity score matching, differences in differences, and randomized controlled trials.- Natural Resource Policy
We seek expertise in policy analysis pertaining to water, energy, and other natural resources, with particular emphasis on issues pertaining to urban areas. Experience in empirical analysis of the links between poverty, natural resources, and livelihoods, also is desirable.We expect to find good candidates for these areas of research in the fields of economics, sociology, political science, anthropology, and other pertinent disciplines.
Deadline: October 15, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
PUBLICATION: How to Support Women’s Land Rights in Mozambique?
A new publication from NORAD.
The Mozambican Land Law of 1997 has been referred to as one of the best in the world, for the way in which it protects and codifies local people’s land rights. The law aims to balance different objectives and structures within one official tenure system. While accommodating ‘traditional’ community land rights, the law also protects equal rights for men and women based on the principle of non-discrimination in the Mozambican Constitution. The Land Law further has provisions that open up for external and larger-scale investments in agriculture, forestry, and natural resource extraction. According to the law, the absence of a formal title shall not prejudice (traditional) land use and benefit rights; but it also provides procedures for formalising land rights for local communities, individuals and corporations. A central dilemma in the implementation of the Mozambican Land Law is that resources are needed both to claim legally established rights, and to be able to benefit from them.
FELLOWSHIP: ECA Research Fellow on Agriculture and Climate Change
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) is inviting applications from qualified young African Professionals to the “ECA Fellowships for Young African Professionals” programme. The Fellowship programme is targeted at young Africans. Candidates applying for Fellowship position must be below 30 years of age when entering the programme. They must have Masters Degree or related Advanced degree. Candidates currently enrolled in a Ph.D programme or with an admission are also welcome to apply. The programme aims to provide practical, on-the-job experience to the young professionals as they prepare either for a career in research and international development and the public sector. It will also familiarize them with the Commission's broad programmes and services to member States and sub-regional bodies in addressing the social dimensions of Africa's development.
The fellows will contribute to the work programme in agriculture and climage change, which includes a significant work with the member states and with an emphasis on the following:
- exploring the agriculture and climate change linkages with a focus on adaptation and resilience;
- analysis of the effects of climate change and climate variability on agriculture;
- review and analysis of agricultural sector policies and production of policy recommendations to promote the sector’s resilience to climate change and climate variability;
- climate and agricultural data management.
Deadline: September 18, 2012
PUBLICATION: Forest Management Decentralization in Kenya: Effects on Household Farm Forestry Decisions in Kakamega
A paper prepared for presentation at the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference:
This study investigates the factors that influence participation of households in devolved system of forest management by joining community forest associations (CFA). It further employs Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to measure the impact of household’s participation in CFA on farm forestry decisions. The analysis uses cross-sectional data from a survey of Kakamega forest communities in Kenya in 2010. Generally, our findings reveal that participation in CFA by households is influenced broadly by socio-economic and institutional factors, and that participation in CFA has a positive impact on farm forestry development. Policy makers and development practitioners, therefore, need to devise, implement and sufficient fund interventions that would promote development of community forest associations with the ultimate goal of increasing forest cover in the country.
EMPLOYMENT: Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) Director
Forest Peoples Programme is an international NGO based in the UK, which supports forest peoples to secure their rights and determine their own futures. FPP works to support and strengthen forest peoples’ organisations in South and Central America, Africa, and Asia. It applies an inclusive and collegiate approach to organisational management and uses participatory processes for planning and decision-making within the organisation. More information on FPP is available at: www.forestpeoples.org
FPP is now seeking an experienced person to take on the directorship of the organisation in coordination with the FPP’s Executive Committee and Board members.
The Director is responsible for:
- Shaping the collective vision and direction of FPP (partner-led), including oversight of FPP’s overall strategy and organisational planning
- Overall coordination of FPP and its advocacy and communication activities, including connections between programmes
- Fundraising and financial stability
- Overseeing the management of personnel, staff relations, and advising on issues raised in staff reviews
These responsibilities involve:
- Close coordination with FPP’s Executive Committee
- Identifying new funding opportunities to support FPP, its work programmes and partner organisations, in collaboration with the Board
- Acting as a key public ambassador
- Participating in key international policy processes and fora including advocacy work with FPP team members and partners
- Carrying out advocacy-related research, policy analysis and fieldwork
- Line managing programme coordinators, senior advisors and the Managing Director, as well as other staff, as appropriate
- Acting as a focal point for the Board Sharing the lead in recruiting staff
Deadline: October 12, 2012
SCHOLARSHIP: IPCC Scholarship Programme
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has opened a call for applications for the second round of awards under the IPCC Scholarship Programme. The IPCC Scholarship Programme aims to build capacity in the understanding and management of climate change in developing countries by providing opportunities for young scientists from developing countries to undertake studies that would not be possible without funding under the programme.
Applicants must be post-graduate students under the age of 30 studying at PhD level. They must have already been accepted at a recognized educational institution to start studies in 2013, or be currently enrolled on continuing PhD courses. Research proposals should focus on one of the following fields of study:
- Socio-economic modelling related to climate change
- Underlying science of climate change
- Climate change and water
Applicants must be nationals of developing countries and priority will be given to students from
Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). With a value of up to USD 20,000 per year, each award will be given for a period of one year and is renewable once, subject to satisfactory progress during the period of study and term reports signed by the research supervisor.
Applications will undergo a two-level selection process. IPCC scientific experts will first assess the applications in an initial review and the IPCC Science Board will then review the applications and make a final selection. The candidates selected for an award will be notified individually during the second quarter of 2013.
The IPCC Scholarship Programme was established with the funds received from the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. The IPCC Scholarship Programme benefits from the support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
Deadline: September 30, 2012
Friday, September 07, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: Practical Action Senior Policy & Practice Adviser - Agriculture
The UK-based NGO Practical Action is looking for a dynamic individual who is a strategic thinker with clear influencing skills. S/he will have demonstrable experience of effective practice and policy initiatives, bringing that experience to drive forward the organization’s learning and influencing in this field, in order to effect change in the policies and practices of others. A strong engager, both internally and externally, s/he will embrace working within a culture of dynamic teams across the organisation.
The advisor will have an in-depth understanding of the relationship between poverty and natural resources, food security and livelihoods. S/he will use that expertise to build on and enhance Practical Action’s current policy and practice on agriculture and NRM and ensure that Practical Action is able to achieve significant impact internationally. Knowledge of one or more of Practical Action’s other thematic areas, namely energy, market systems, DRR, climate change, and water would be an advantage.
Deadline: September 27, 2012
Thursday, September 06, 2012
This Week’s Posts
EMPLOYMENT: IT Project Assistant (Junior Consultancy) for the Land Portal project. The Land Portal, the global gateway for land related information, is looking for an IT Assistant (Junior Consultancy ) for Land Portal content and technical related activities. Deadline: September 10, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: CCAFS Latin America Regional Program Leader (CIAT). The CGIAR Research Program Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is expanding to Latin America and therefore seeking applications from a qualified candidate who will play a crucial role in partnership development and management in the region. Deadline: September 15, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: FAO Socioeconomist, Bangladesh. The successful candidate will contribute to the timely and effective delivery of the National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme. Deadline: September 16, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: ICRAF/CCAFS Social Scientist—Linking Knowledge with Action. The social scientist will be based at ICRAF in Nairobi, and supervised by CCAFS Theme 4.1 Research Leader. The position will involve travel to CCAFS sites/regions (likely less than 25-30% of total time). Deadline: September 28, 2012
AWARD: IDRC Student and Postdoc Research Awards. IDRC’s Research Awards are a unique opportunity for master’s and doctoral-level students, as well as recent graduates to enhance their research skills and gain a fresh perspective on crucial development issues. Deadline: September 12, 2012
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Water in the Anthropocene Conference. The Global Water System Project and its International Project Office based in Bonn, Germany, is organizing an international conference on ‘Water in the Anthropocene: Challenges for Science and Governance. Deadline: October 31, 2012
TRAINING: Certificate Course on Using ICT Tools for Effective Monitoring, Impact Evaluation and Research. The Development CAFE is offering a course to introduce students to tools and techniques to measure and report project/programme outcomes to stakeholders, including donors, funders, supervisors or the general public using innovative ICT based tools. Deadline: September 15, 2012
TRAINING: Wageningen Course on Competing Claims on Natural Resources. The overall aim of the course is to contribute to sustainable natural resources management by building capacity to manage (potentially) conflicting claims on natural resources. Deadline: October 1, 2012
EVENT: Thirteenth RRI Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change. The Thirteenth RRI Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change, on the topic of “Scaling-Up Strategies to Reduce Emissions and Deliver Development in Forest Areas”, will take place on November 5, 2012 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
PUBLICATION: Linking Adaptation and Mitigation through Community Forestry: Case Studies from Asia. A new publication from RECOFTC with case studies from Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.
AWARD: IDRC Student and Postdoc Research Awards
IDRC’s Research Awards are a unique opportunity for master’s and doctoral-level students, as well as recent graduates to enhance their research skills and gain a fresh perspective on crucial development issues. This one-year, paid in-house program of training and mentorship in research, research management, and grant administration allows awardees to pursue their research goals in a dynamic team environment in one of the world’s leaders in generating new knowledge to meet global challenges.
The Agriculture and Food Security (AFS) program supports research that generates new options for equitable and productive agriculture to improve food and income security for poor women and men in developing countries. Research has shown that appropriate food security interventions have the potential to achieve sustained improvements in household food security as well as the nutritional well-being of vulnerable members of the population. The AFS program works with organizations to intensify and diversify small-scale agriculture, improve nutritional quality and income by developing, disseminating, and using innovations (technological, institutional, political, economic, and social) without adverse consequences to societies and the environment.
Research Award candidates are encouraged to submit applications that will further the AFS program's multi-regional programming through a research activity focusing on agriculture and food security, specifically on the economics of agriculture, food production, distribution or consumption. This may include research on the economics of household production, value chain analysis, benefit-cost analysis of post-harvest technologies, etc. Other relevant topics are also welcome.
You should have an interest in agriculture, food security, nutrition, rural livelihoods, and sustainable development along with solid technical understanding of agricultural science and first-hand knowledge of the rural sector. You must have, or be currently enrolled in, a postgraduate degree with: a strong emphasis on agricultural economics, economics, business or commerce, or related field; and an interest/minor in farming systems research, rural development, sustainable development, or international development.
Knowledge of research for development, field experience in a developing country (preferably Asia or Africa), and experience with publishing/communications are highly desirable. The position will operate primarily in English, but knowledge of French and/or another language is an asset.
Your research proposal should demonstrate the intention to explore the linkages between agriculture, nutrition, and food security, have a clear commitment to the AFS methodological building blocks (e.g., multistakeholder participation, transdisciplinarity, and social and gender equity), and recognize the dual nature of the position—applied research activity and general program support.
Deadline: September 12, 2012
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: CCAFS Latin America Regional Program Leader (CIAT)
The CGIAR Research Program 7 (CRP7), Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), is a strategic ten-year partnership emerging from new collaboration between the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) aimed at overcoming the additional threats posed by a changing climate to achieving food security, enhancing livelihoods and improving environmental management in the developing world.
As a collective effort coordinated by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), CCAFS will become a hub that facilitates action of all the CGIAR centers, other CGIAR Research Programs and a wide range of partners while involving farmers, policy makers, donors and other stakeholders, to integrate their knowledge and needs into the tools and approaches that are developed. For more information visit www.ccafs.cgiar.org
CCAFS has initially focused its work on three regions: South Asia, East and West Africa. These regions were chosen to represent areas that are becoming both drier and wetter and because they will generate results that can be applied and adapted in other regions worldwide as the program evolves.
In 2012 CCAFS is expanding to two new regions: South East Asia and Latin America. CCAFS is therefore seeking applications from a qualified candidate who will play a crucial role in partnership development and management in Latin America. He/she will mainly be responsible for ensuring coherence amongst CCAFS themes from field to regional level, and will play a key role in achieving outcomes and impacts at national and regional levels. He/she will also be responsible for facilitating the appropriate linkages to other CCAFS activities in the regions. He/she will also assist the Director in fundraising and be part of the CCAFS Management Team.
Role and responsibilities:
- Develop and implement an engagement, partnership and communications plan for the region
- Select bench mark sites
- Ensure coordination of ongoing activities related to effect of climate change on agriculture in the region
- Ensure close link and synchronization with CIAT’s regional coordinator for Latin America to facilitate input of other CRP activities in the region
- Liaise between researchers and the multitude of relevant stakeholders, from farm to regional level.
- Foster outcomes and impact from research
- Facilitating a process towards the scenario development
- Contribute actively to the management operations of CCAFS in close and cross-cutting collaboration with the Theme Leaders and the other Regional Program Leaders
Deadline: September 15, 2012
TRAINING: Wageningen Course on Competing Claims on Natural Resources
The competing claims approach is a response to failing conventional NRM approaches that tend to embrace a discourse of inclusiveness and ‘easy’ win-win situations and that are unable to deal with conflicting interests, the different perceptions of stakeholders on conservation vis-à-vis development, power imbalances across and between multiple scale levels in the NRM sectors, and the implications of rapidly changing global-local interrelations in environmental governance and markets.
Course objectives
The overall aim of the course is to contribute to sustainable natural resources management by building capacity to manage (potentially) conflicting claims on natural resources. Upon completion of the course you will:
- be able to contextualise and apply analytical frameworks and methodologies to better understand competing claims on natural resources from a sustainable development (‘people, planet, profit’) perspective;
- be able to examine different conflict management approaches and develop competencies to manage related change processes;
- be able to practice a broad range of skills to manage conflict and facilitate informed negotiation processes;
- be able to review institutional arrangements that hamper or foster negotiated outcomes in resource use;
- be able to share and document cases of competing claims on natural resources in order to analyse the potential for positive social change.
Target audience
The course has been designed for:
- staff from government, private sector, NGOs and research institutes in policy development, management, and R&D positions in the forestry, wildlife tourism,agriculture, water management and fisheries sectors.
The deadline to apply for a Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) scholarship for this course is October 1, 2012
TRAINING: Certificate Course on Using ICT Tools for Effective Monitoring, Impact Evaluation and Research
The Development CAFE is offering a Certificate Course on Using ICT Tools for Effective Monitoring, Impact Evaluation and Research.
About the Organization:
The Development CAFE is a registered nonprofit organization aimed at enhancing information and communications technology (ICT) skills for development professionals, scientists, researchers and students around the world. DevCAFE'S Professional Development for Development Professionals (PDDP) program aims to expand delivery of ICT skills to development professionals through innovative methods that meet the unique needs of learners. Instruction is delivered through a completely online format, Offline (DVDs/email) are also available for those with limited internet access.
Overall Course Outcome:
The ICT tools for Monitoring and Evaluation course will introduce you to tools and techniques to measure and report project/programme outcomes to your stakeholders, including donors, funders, supervisors or the general public using innovative ICT based tools. At the end of the course, you will become familiar with the components of an effective monitoring and evaluation plan using ICT, and methods and tools to conduct data collection, statistical analysis and reporting.
Who Should Attend?
Professionals such as Monitoring and Evaluation Officers, Grant Managers, Social Entrepreneurs, Program Officers, Project managers, Research Scholars and Students and any other professionals who are involved in the monitoring and evaluation process will benefit from this course.
Course Outline:
- Differences between supervision, monitoring and evaluation and research
- Components of a successful monitoring and evaluation plan
- Introduction of ICT based M&E
- Advanced ICT Tools for M&E
- Identifying outcome indicators for your project
- Data and types of data, challenges of data collection
- Quantitative methods
- Qualitative methods
- Writing an effective M/E report
- Writing an effective research publication
Training Format:
- All materials are made available through a Learning Management System online
- Approximately 3-4 hours time commitment of your time per week
- At your own time schedule, no live participation needed
- Weekly feedback from committed instructors who are currently enaged at both field and policy level.
- Participants are expected to submit weekly assignments electronically to earn certificate of completion
Computing Requirements:
Participants will need access to a computer working on an operating system Windows XP or higher, and access to the internet for 4-5 hours per week at minimum 500+ KBPS. Participants will need to use email, watch videos posted in YouTube format, listen to audio (mp3), upload and download word docs, PowerPoint files and PDFs, and post on the discussion board. If you do not have internet speed sufficient to watch YouTube videos, then the offline DVD course may be the right alternative for you.
Materials Provided:
Online delivery of curriculum materials, exercises and templates. Cerfiticate upon completion. (APPLY NOW)
Course Dates: October 1-25, 2012 (1st Batch)| November 1-25 (2nd Batch) (LAST Date for registration to First Batch is 15th September 2012, and Second batch is 15th October 2012)
Course Fees: (Developing Country Student USD200| Developed Country Student USD 250| Developing Country Professional| USD 350| Developed Country Professional USD 450|Organizational/Group Session USD 700|
List of Developing Countries that qualify for a discount.
How to register: Register Online or send an Email with your details.
Deadline: September 15, 2012
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: ICRAF/CCAFS Social Scientist—Linking Knowledge with Action
Social Scientist, Linking Knowledge with Action – CCAFS, will be based at ICRAF in Nairobi, and supervised by CCAFS Theme 4.1 Research Leader. The position will involve travel to CCAFS sites/regions (likely less than 25-30% of total time). Within the CCAFS Program Structure, this position is given the title ‘Science Officer’.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Provide scientific input and conduct research for CCAFS’s Theme 4.1 Research Theme – Linking Knowledge with Action, in terms of planning, implementing and monitoring the research agenda;
- Assist the CCAFS Theme 4.1 Leader in:
- Supporting CCAFS and partners leverage funding, develop research proposals and activities;
- Supporting CCAFS research activities;
- Developing new partnerships and contracts and helping partners develop proposals;
- Recruiting and managing consultancies and partnerships;
- Assisting partners in developing communication products and publishing in various media, including writing and editing working papers, research reports, briefs, blogs and journal articles;
- Assisting in organizing international workshops and training events.
Deadline: September 28, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: IT Project Assistant (Junior Consultancy) for the Land Portal project
The Land Portal – facilitated by the International land Coalition (ILC) is the global gateway for land related information, aggregating information on land from multiple sources and building a specialized community of land experts from civil society organizations, governmental and intergovernmental institutions and academia. It is the result of a partnership of many organizations.
The Land Portal Coordination at ILC is looking for an IT Assistant (Junior Consultancy ) for Land Portal content and technical related activities.
Main duties
- Data integration: In close coordination with the LP coordinator, the consultant will support external data integration. The consultant will liaise directly with third-party technical personnel, as well as conceptualize, develop and deploy integration mechanisms, including web-based user interfaces. Fine tune the integration of resources already integrated and make them functional and consistent with the overall LP layout.
- Fix and enhance Drupal functionalities that are not functioning properly (this will involve the re-writing of Drupal modules when necessary), including the notification system, organic group function, search engine function (including the creation of a specific search engine for external databases), management of spam, and others. Update and upgrade existing functionalities. Ensure the proper functioning of the website (quality, speed, professionalism), administration of the database, and maintenance of the websites at the server, content and software level, including any code optimisation duties. Resolve any maintenance or server issues as needed.
- After a proper assessment, migrate web content into the new dedicated server.
- Land Portal website regular management and upgrading including management of users, taxonomy gardening. Monitor users traffic on Google Analytics and suggest technical solutions to increase visibility and website referencing. Send out the monthly update (manually) and monthly web statistic reports (automatic).
- Support the design and implementation of new topic pages in collaboration with partner organizations. Act as technical support for all web design tasks and updating of content on the websites.
- Support the design and implementation of comprehensive country pages (in close collaboration with Tactical Tech and an ad hoc working group to be set up).
- Perform other duties as required.
Deadline: September 10, 2012
EVENT: Thirteenth RRI Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change
The Thirteenth RRI Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change, on the topic of “Scaling-Up Strategies to Reduce Emissions and Deliver Development in Forest Areas”, will take place on November 5, 2012 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
The Dialogue will take stock of the most promising and proven strategies to reduce emissions from deforestation while delivering development for the rural poor. Participants from community organizations, governments, private sector firms, donor agencies, and research and development organizations from across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and North America will assess the potential for expanding these strategies and making them even more effective. Topics will include corporate and government commitments to slow deforestation via their supply chains, using trade levers to promote legal forestry and trade, and tenure reforms to strengthen the rights and capacities of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to manage their forests.
Monday, September 03, 2012
PUBLICATION: Linking Adaptation and Mitigation through Community Forestry: Case Studies from Asia
A new publication from RECOFTC.
These case studies are based on local experiences in Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam in an attempt to explore how community forestry may contribute to adaptation and mitigation goals. They are exploratory and descriptive in nature and although not purporting to be representative of the region, they provide a foundation for a better understanding of these relationships.
Specifically, the objectives are:
- To better understand the potential role of community forestry to contribute to both climate change adaptation and mitigation goals.
- To illustrate not only the positive contributions of community forestry to these goals, but also where and under what conditions trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation, and other objectives may occur.
As community forestry is an increasingly recognized approach in all of the countries studied, it is a valuable entry point for understanding how adaptation and mitigation may be jointly addressed. It is recognized for its role in sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, and increasingly as a key approach for mitigation initiatives such as REDD+ (UN-REDD, 2011).
Much of the information is based on discussions with communities and so reflects their perceptions, for example, of changes that they are experiencing in their environment and the resulting impacts on their livelihoods.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Water in the Anthropocene Conference
The Global Water System Project and its International Project Office based in Bonn, Germany, is organizing an international conference on ‘Water in the Anthropocene: Challenges for Science and Governance. Indicators, Thresholds and Uncertainties of the Global Water System’ to be held at MARITIM Hotel, Bonn, Germany on 21- 24 May 2013.
Contributions are invited on the following themes:
Theme 1: Global Water System: Current State and Future Challenges
- Assessing Global Water Resource Availability
- Data Integration and Precision of Indicators
- Links between Global Carbon, Water and Nutrient Cycles
- Risks, Extremes and Variability: Challenges for Science and Practice
- Virtual Water and the Global Water System
Theme 2: Global Dimensions of Change in River Basins
- Rivers and the Nexus: Water, Energy and Food Security in Large Basins
- Adaptive Water Governance in Large Basins
- Basins and Aquifers: IWRM at Large Scale
- Hydropolitics in River Basins, Water Rights and Institutions
- Dynamics and Vulnerability of Delta Systems
Theme 3: Balancing Water Needs for Humans and Nature
- Trade Offs: Ecosystem Services - Challenges for Science and Practice
- Environmental Flows: Accounting Water Quantity and Quality
- Challenges and Solutions for Global Water Governance
- `Blue Gold`? The Value and Price of Water
- Integrated Land and Water Management for Sustainability
Deadline: October 31, 2012
EMPLOYMENT: FAO SOCIOECONOMIST, BANGLADESH
The successful candidate will contribute to the timely and effective delivery of the National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme (NFPCSP, for more information visit www.nfpcsp.org). In particular, the incumbent will:
- carry out analytical and policy advisory work and specific research related to access to food, including safety nets and social protection, rural development and the related gender dimensions;
- assist in planning and delivering training courses for policy and planning officers of the FPMU and members of the inter-ministerial food security teams on issues related to food security, in particular in the field of safety nets and social protection, rural development, gender analysis, sampling survey methodologies, questionnaire design and statistical analyst of household-level data;
- provide on-the-job training, day-to-day guidance and support to analysis in the institutions supported by NFPCSP in carrying out their analytical tasks;
- identify and define food security related research needs and act as a catalyst for addressing these in collaboration with government analyst and research institutions contracted under the project;
- support government planning and monitoring of food security and poverty reduction policies, strategies and programmes and contribute to the assessment of their contributions to achieving relevant MDGs and national food security policy targets;
- contribute to monitoring and supporting the execution of research carried out by institutions and consultants contracted under the project related to food availability and access, including production and trade;
- contribute to the development of a food security information system and to related food security situation analyses and policy monitoring;
- support programme planning, monitoring and implementation and reporting; and
- perform other related duties as required.
Deadline: September 16, 2012